Contractor demand in Scotland increased during January 2013, with billings reaching a two-year high and the fastest rise in vacancies for eight months.
This is according to the latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, which also shows the core contracting sectors of IT and engineering leading the demand league tables in both contractor and permanent hiring.
Recruiters report that “greater client demand and improvements to the wider economy” underpin the surge in activity. This has resulted in Scotland’s contracting sector outperforming the rest of the UK, although the gap is narrowing.
“Vacancies for both permanent and temporary staff grew in the month,” notes Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae. “These results reinforce the hope that the Scottish economy enjoyed moderate growth in January 2013.”
MacRae also highlighted the significant increase in permanent roles for engineers and IT professionals, which he believes suggests “a modest pick-up in activity in this crucial sector in the coming spring”.
The contractor demand league table bears this out, with IT & computing and engineering & construction occupying second and third places respectively, behind nursing/medical/care. “The IT & Computing, engineering & construction…sectors meanwhile posted strong rates of vacancy growth in the latest survey period,” confirmed the report.
The news was positive in the other core contracting sectors covered. The executive and professional sector, which includes interim management contractors, was in positive territory, after a brief slow-down during the previous month. The accounts & financial sector “posted the first increase in five months”, suggesting that Scotland’s financial sector may finally be on the mend.
The UK video games hub of Dundee saw the largest increase in billings during January. This, alongside experiencing the highest increase in rates, suggests demand for IT contractors may be outstripping supply.
Contractor availability deteriorated again in January, continuing a six month run of falling candidate numbers. Increasing billings and demand, coupled with increasing rates and falling availability, paint the picture of a currently healthy contracting sector which may start to suffer from skills shortages if Scotland’s economy continues to improve.